What Are the Top 20 Children’s Audiobooks?

The Fuse #8 blog at School Library Journal has been tallying up the results of the Top 100 Children’s Novels Poll. That got us wondering, “What are the Top Children’s Audiobooks?” While many of the books would be the same, adding audio into the mix may change the list a little. So we want to hear from you!

We’ll be compiling a list of the top 20—beginning readers, children’s books, children’s classics, or YA novels are all acceptable submissions. Please see below for rules. Everyone who sends in a list of nominations will be entered to win a the grand prize: a set of 10 audiobooks from the top 20!

1. Leave a comment below listing your top 20 children’s audiobooks, from number 20 all the way up to number 1, in order. Feel free to leave a sentence or two describing your favorites. If you don’t have 20 favorites, list as many as you’d like.
2. Submissions will close on May 30, 2010. We’ll tally up the results, assigning points to titles based on their ranking in your list.
3. We’ll pick one random grand prize winner on June 14, 2010. That winner will receive 10 CD audiobooks from the compiled top 20 audiobooks list. Grand prize audiobooks will be chosen by Recorded Books.
4. Contest is open to all K-12 educators in the United States. Recorded Books reserves the right to confirm eligibility and alter rules to this contest at any time.

In Remembrance of Sid Fleischman

We here at Recorded Books are saddened by the passing of wonderful children’s book author Sid Fleischman. Fleischman died on March 17, 2010 at 90 years old. Before becoming an author, Fleischman worked as a professional magician, served in World War II, and was a journalist.

Already a successful adult novelist and screenwriter, in 1962 he decided to write a children’s book so that his own children would better understand what he did all day. After having been half-heartedly sent to his agent, the tale sold and Flesichman’s career writing for children began. He shared that he was especially touched by the letters that his young readers would send him: “their letters are wonderful. They make you feel like Shakespeare must have felt when he heard the applause.”

We’ll miss you, Sid!

The Whipping Boy – 1987 Newbery Medal Winner

Jim Ugly by Sid Fleischman

Bo and Mzzz Mad by Sid Fleischman

Bandit’s Moon by Sid Fleischman

Sid is the father of Newbery Award-winning poet Paul Fleischman. They are the only father and son to both win the Newbery Medal. For lesson plans and free audio from Paul’s Newbery Medal winner Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, CLICK HERE.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Don’t pinch us! We’re wearing green! And if you’re searching for some Irish-inspired literature, head over to the library and check out these:

• Fiona’s Luck by Teresa Bateman – Once upon a time, there was lots of luck in Ireland—and plenty of leprechauns around to enjoy it. But when the Big Folk came, they started soaking up all the luck for themselves! So the king of the leprechauns ordered all luck locked away for safe keeping. But now Ireland is in the middle of the potato famine. Can Fiona outsmart the Leprechaun King and release Ireland’s luck? This wonderful folktale has gorgeous illustrations and is an enchanting choice for beginning readers.
• Ulysses by James Joyce – An AudioFile Earphones Award Winner – It’s a tough read, but with with the increased comprehension afforded while listening to the audiobook, you and your students can really enjoy this classic. The first authorized, unabridged release of this timeless classic and exclusively available from Recorded Books. Ulysses records the events of a single day, June 16, 1904, in Dublin, Ireland.
• A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce – Another great selection to challenge older readers. James Joyce’s tour de force: a work that brought a new vitality to language and revolutionized the narrative structure of the novel. Published in Dublin in 1916, the novel recounts the internal and external events in a young artist’s life, and the evolution he takes in his discovery of a vocation.

What are your favorite St. Patrick’s Day reads? What are you doing to celebrate?

Are Newbery Winners Too Hard?

An article from the Washington Post reflects on the recent School Library Journal article that questioned the value of the Newbery Medal. The Washington Post article says, “Of the 25 winners and runners-up chosen from 2000 to 2005, four of the books deal with death, six with the absence of one or both parents and four with such mental challenges as autism. Most of the rest deal with tough social issues.”

Is it good to choose books that will challenge children? Books that they may not otherwise read? Or are awards that focus on books kids are more likely to pick up in the first place more valuable to teachers, librarians, and parents? Some people, including an eighth grader in Bethesda in the article, say that the more educators force children to read a book, the less likely they are to enjoy it.

Of course, remember that if your students are having trouble with a more difficult Newbery winner, it may help to listen along to the audiobook while reading. We’re very proud of our recording of Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!, for example, which Booklist calls “a near-perfect audio experience.” Our NY recording studio made sure to get all the details accurate—even down to researching the melodies of songs used in the recording. Listening to a book like this will help students get the pronunciation of difficult and unfamiliar words while not missing out on the author’s poetic, funny, and poignant tales.

But is there value in choosing these more difficult books for the Newbery? What do you think? Check out the comments section on the SLJ article for some enlightening reactions from other educators, and let us know.